Radically Happy

Contrast the “Wine Broker” of Luke 5 with the “Perfume Breaker” of Luke 7, as a metaphor for Paul in 2 Cor 11/12.
Have Dom Perignon, proud of both his wine and his religiosity, invoke a blessing over his self-satisfied work.
Mary Magdalene appears with a warning, and an invitation, using the example of Paul.
After she leaves, Dom breaks a prized bottle at the feet of the statue of Jesus.

ChatGPT Prompt

(The cloister of Hautvillers Abbey. A row of prized bottles rests on a shelf. Dom Pérignon stands proudly before them, a rosary dangling from his wrist. He lifts one bottle reverently, gazing at it in the torchlight.)

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Dom’s Pride

DOM PÉRIGNON
(to himself, almost smug)
At last—the vintage perfected.
Crafted with patience,
guarded with discipline,
set aside to age,
that the world may taste excellence and say,
“Surely this is the fruit of heaven.”

(He caresses the bottle as if it were a chalice. He closes his eyes in a prayerful murmur.)

DOM PÉRIGNON
Lord Christ, bless this work of my hands.
Bless my vineyard, my labors, my devotion.
Surely my craft and my faith together
make an offering pleasing in Your sight.

The Visitation

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(A sudden fragrance fills the air. Mary Magdalene appears, holding her alabaster jar.)

MARY MAGDALENE
Brother Pierre. You savor your wine,
but beware the wine broker’s trap:
“No one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5:39).

DOM PÉRIGNON
(startled, defensive)
And what is wrong with old wine?
Is it not richer, fuller, stronger?
Should not a vintner delight in age?

MARY
Yes, but not at the cost of the Bridegroom’s feast.
Paul once said the same,
a steward of the old,
boasting in law, lineage, zeal (Phil 3:4–6).
Yet he was broken on the road,
and his folly became his perfume:
boasting only in weakness,
that Christ’s power might rest on him
(2 Cor 12:9–10).

DOM PÉRIGNON
(his voice faltering)
So the broker became the breaker.
The preserver became the pourer.

MARY
Yes. Brother, do not confuse preservation with consecration.
Sometimes the holiest act is not saving the bottle,
but breaking it at His feet.

(Mary fades, leaving the air heavy with spikenard. Silence lingers.)

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The Breaking

(Dom kneels before a crucifix statue of Jesus. He lifts the bottle high, trembling now.)

DOM PÉRIGNON
Lord Christ, forgive my pride.
I thought the cellar’s approval was Your smile.
But You desire not preservation, but pouring.
Not my craft, but my surrender.

(With sudden resolve, he smashes the bottle at the foot of the statue. Wine spreads like blood across the stone floor, filling the air with fragrance. Dom bows low, his rosary falling into the crimson pool.)

DOM PÉRIGNON
(whispering)
Take this vintage, Lord.
Take me.
For only what is broken
can fill the house with Your fragrance (Luke 7:37–38).

(The stage darkens. Only the glistening spill remains, gleaming in candlelight.)

— CURTAIN —